...Instructor Nick Martin 23 November 2015 Evaluation of Red Lobster Is Red Lobster as nice as everyone thinks it is? When I got offered a job at Red Lobster to be a hostess the first thing the manager told me is that Chris Rock and Nicki Minaj had worked there before they had become famous, and that right there sold me. The day I started working at Red Lobster off of I-240 in Oklahoma City, I thought I was working at the nicest place anyone could ever go. Every year on my birthday my parents would ask me where I would want to go for my birthday dinner and my answer would always be Red Lobster. A large building with Red Walls along the outside, of course it was welcoming. Nice dim lighting inside to set the mood of romance, also had three sections of the restaurant, which were called The Galley, the front of the restaurant by the bar, The Main floor, which is just the tables in the middle, Back Main was where there were booths along the back with some tables sectioning them from other booths. Then there was the pier where people could have big parties in a private back room. The restaurant it self is in a very good location and there are always different kinds of people coming in and out of Red Lobster. It was absolutely not the expectation I thought I was going to get from this place when I started working there, I mean I love the place, but only because of the people there. Entrepreneurs Bill Darden & Charley Woodsby founded Red Lobster in 1968. Originally billed as a "Harbor...
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...Assignment 1: Vice President of Operations, Part 1 Due Week 3 and worth 200 points Scenario: Imagine that you are the vice president of operations at a production or service organization. You have noticed that your organization’s current operations strategy is not supporting the challenges that the organization is presently facing. In order to maintain a competitive edge, you must address these challenges with your Chief Executive Officer immediately. Select an existing production organization. Analyze the organization’s current vision, mission, business strategy, operation strategy, supply chain, total quality management, just-in-time philosophy, forecasting method, statistical technique, facility location, work design, project life cycle, and project management. Note: You will need this information in order to complete this and subsequent assignments. As you collect the information for Assignment 1 and Assignment 2, remember that in Assignment 3 you must prepare a presentation for your Chief Executive Officer. Write a three to five (3-5) page paper in which you: 1. Evaluate key elements of the selected production or service organization’s operational efficiency with its operational strategy. Determine three (3) tasks that do not align with the operational strategy. Determine the weaknesses that are evident in each task. 2. Formulate a new operations strategy for the selected organization based on the four (4) competitive priorities (i.e., cost, quality, time...
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...RED LOBSTER: MARKET RESEARCH REVEALS WHATS FRESH TODAY BACKGROUND 1968: Foundation: Red Lobster was founded in 1968 by entrepreneur Bill Darden and Charley Woossby. Originally billed as a “Harbor for seafood Lovers”, the original restaurant in Lakeland, Florida, was followed by several others throughout the Southest. 1970: General Mills acquired Red Lobster in 1970 as a five-unit restaurant company and rapidly expanded the company nationwide. As it reached more parts of the country, Red Lobster continually introduced guests to fresh dishes that quickly became favorites, with many guests getting their first taste of calamari, snow crab and Key lime pie here – not to mention the fact that it is where popcorn shrimp was invented. (after 1970, until 1980) In 1980, this year was one of the most important for the company, reaching and being in their stage of maturity, a stage in which all companies desire to be in there. In 1983, Red Lobster opened its first restaurant in Canada (Windsor, Ontario) Finishing, in 1995, after decades of success and growth, Red Lobster, together with Olive Garden and later Bahama Breeze, became part of Darden Restaurants, with Joe at the helm until 2005, when he turned the reins over to current CEO and Chairman Clarence Otis. Over the years, their passion for seafood and delicious experiences has kept Red Lobster evolving. Their menu has grown and changed with their guests’ tastes and their ability to bring the best of the sea to your table...
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...Marketing Plan: Phase I Kelly Addis, Jillian Caldwell, Kristen Kobyluck, Jaclyn Portugal, & Honey Spoon MKT/421 April 24, 2011 Matt Rosenberg Marketing Plan: Phase I During week two, Learning Team B will take a thorough look at the Olive Garden Italian Restaurant chain. Team B has decided that a new appetizer item should be added to the restaurant menu. The appetizer item being considered is cheese filled breadsticks served with Marinara sauce. The team will begin this marketing plan by giving an overview of the Olive Garden Restaurant, along with a detailed description of the new menu item being considered. They will also explain why marketing plays an important role in the restaurants success. A SWOTT analysis will be given to introduce all the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, threats, and trends that should be considered prior to introducing this new appetizer to their menu. Finally, a marketing research approach will be decided upon and used to develop the marketing strategy and tactics for this new appetizer item. Olive Garden Restaurant General Mills originally created the Olive Garden restaurants in 1982. In June of 1995, General Mills moved the Olive Garden division to its newly developed Darden Restaurants, Inc. Olive Garden has quickly become the largest casual dining restaurant company in the world. Olive Garden uses Italy as its basis of inspiration and attempts to focus on hospitality and a pleasing dining experience. In 1999...
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...Case Study Analysis: Locating the Next Red Lobster Restaurant Amanda K Passaretti February 7, 2015 Prof. Jonathan Bates BUS520: Operations Management From its first Red Lobster restaurant in 1968, Darden Restaurants has grown the chain to 690 locations, with over $2.6 billion in U.S. sales annually. The casual dining market may be crowded, with competitors such as Chili’s, Ruby Tuesday, Applebee’s, TGI Fridays, and Outback, but Darden’s continuing success means the chain thinks there is still plenty of room to grow. Robert Reiner, director of market development, is charged with identifying the sites that will maximize new store sales without cannibalizing sales at existing Red Lobster locations. Characteristics for identifying a good site have not changed in forty years; they still include real estate prices, customer age, competition, ethnicity, income, family size, population density, nearby hotels, and buying behavior, to name just a few. What has changed is the powerful software that allows Reiner to analyze a new site in five minutes, as opposed to the eight hours it took just a few years ago. Darden has partnered with MapInfo Corporation, whose geographic information system (GIS) contains a powerful module for analyzing a trade area. With the U.S. geocoded down to the individual block, MapInfo allows Reiner to create a psychographic profile of existing and potential Red Lobster trade areas. “We can now target areas with greatest sales potential,” says Reiner. The...
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...Institute in Tuscany has shaped a genuine Italian menu. Geographic Segmentation is something that Darden exhibits in the Longhorn chain. Longhorn Restaurants are currently only found in the eastern half of the US. This offers an opportunity for extensive expansion going forward. Demographic Segmentation is exemplified by Red Lobster’s efforts to fill the gap between fast-food seafood and upscale white-tablecloth restaurants. Behavioral Segmentation is realized in usage rates. Darden, along with all other sit-down restaurants, are seeing a decline in the frequency that diners are eating out at sit-down meals. This is a result of economic decline and consumers becoming more particular with how they chose to use their limited finance resources. 2. Has Darden differentiated and positioned its brands effectively? I believe that Darden has done a good job of this. Darden’s brands are so well differentiated and positioned and the corporate name is kept so low-profile that most customers don’t realize they share a common ownership. They have different niche-type markets meaning they have Italian market through Olive Garden, Seafood through Red Lobster, and Steakhouse market through...
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...2012 NAME: Last: Tamayo First:Fransisco Link to Article (if available): http://www.businessweek.com/news/2012-07-02/darden-sees-olive-garden-red-lobster-making-new-revenue-retail Strategy Article Illustrates: Concentric Diversification/ Market Development What leads you to believe this is the strategy illustrated? Both restaurants are known for their casual dining atmosphere in suburbia America. What a lot of people do not know is that the same company, Darden, owns these companies. The article states that the company will begin offering a both Red Lobster and Olive Garden under the same roof, a strategy often used by fast-food restaurant chains. This move leads me to believe that Darden is trying to implement a, much like their restaurants, a combination strategy. The new combination restaurant exemplifies the concentric diversification strategy by taking the two individual restaurants and evolving them under one roof. They will continue to capitalize on each of the restaurants specialties while minimizing the cost of two separate buildings. Additionally, they will use the strategy of market development to nicely complement concentric diversification. The article continues to explain that Darden has chosen to use the Red Lobster-Olive Garden restaurant fusion to reach potential customers that live in rural areas. Why has the company decided on this strategy? There are a few reasons why the company has decided to...
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...Foundations Paper Olive Garden, Red Lobster, and Longhorn Steakhouse are places many have had the pleasure of visiting. These restaurants focus on providing exceptional customer service and creating a positive work environment for their employees. Along with the focus on exceptional service, these restaurants share another commonality; they are all a part of the Darden Restaurant Group. In 1938, a 19 year old by the name of Bill Darden opened his first restaurant. Over the next 70 years, Bill Darden would add eight different restaurants brands to his portfolio of companies, each one dedicated to providing exceptional customer service. In 1995, the Darden Restaurants Group Inc. would develop the Darden Foundation. A foundation committed to giving millions of dollars to support non-profit organizations in the communities Darden restaurants serve. Darden Foundation The Darden Foundation was founded in 1995 and named for its founder Bill Darden. In partnership with more than 2,100 restaurants and 200,000 employees, the Darden Foundation works each day — through grant making and strong partnerships — to bring a tradition of service to life in every community Darden serves (http://www.dardenfoundation.com, 2014). The Darden Foundation is focused and committed to making a meaningful impact on the communities they serve. The Darden Foundation identifies and invests in national nonprofits across the U.S. and near its company headquarters in Central Florida. The Darden...
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...represented by Olive Garden’s plan to build a dining experience around the concept of a fabled Italian family. Olive Garden’s marketing team learned that a primary customer insight shows that customers are as interested in emotional nourishment as they are in physical nourishment. Styling the restaurant as an Italian farmhouse, commercials that invite you to be “part of the family”, and training at their Culinary Institute in Tuscany has shaped a genuine Italian menu. Geographic Segmentation is something that Darden exhibits in the Longhorn chain. Longhorn Restaurants are currently only found in the eastern half of the US. This offers an opportunity for extensive expansion going forward. Demographic Segmentation is exemplified by Red Lobster’s efforts to fill the gap between fast-food seafood and upscale white-tablecloth restaurants. Behavioral Segmentation is realized in usage rates. Darden, along with all other sit-down restaurants, are seeing a decline in the frequency that diners are eating out at sit-down meals. This is a result of economic decline and consumers becoming more particular with how they chose to use their limited finance resources. Slavica Ristoska 2. Has Darden differentiated and positioned its brands effectively? Explain. Answer: I believe that Darden has done a good job of this. Darden’s brands are so well differentiated and positioned...
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...MBAA 606 Talisha Quinta Case Study Write- up Red Lobster March 17, 2015 COMPANY OVERVIEW Red Lobster is a chain of casual dining restaurants, founded and managed by Bill Darden. The headquarters of the company is located Florida, and it has branches in Japan, United Arab Emirates, and Canada. Red Lobster has approximately 698 branches. The company was formed in 1968, with the aim of providing a place where Americans will get some seafood. The company was successful in introducing fresh and new delicacies to their customers. These fresh dishes became popular, and this accelerated the growth of the company, and in 1980s, the company made its presence in Canada. However, its Canadian experience was not good; this is because the company made lots of losses. Competition was stiff in Canada, and due to poor strategies and lack of sufficient market information, the company was forced to close some of its branches in Quebec, Canada. This happened on September 1997. In 1995, Red Lobster, Olive Garden and Bahama Breeze were integrated, as part of the Darden Restaurants Inc. Joe Lee was then in charge as the Chief Executive Officer, and later on, he handed the company to Clarence Otis. The company is passionate about seafood, and over the years, the company has initiated the culture of innovation for the purposes of introducing and developing new menus that will satisfy the needs of its customers. Red Lobster has become a household name and over the years was able to gain...
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...Garden portrays an Italian family farmhouse. In demographics segmentation, Red Lobster filled the gap in the market between the still-young fast-food concept and upscale white-tablecloth restaurants. In psychological segmentation, Olive Garden builds a dining experience around the concept of a mythical Italian family. Olive Garden’s research shows that people go to a restaurant for emotional as well as physical nourishment. In behavioral segmentation, there is a drop in the frequency that diners are eating out at sit-down meals because of the economic decline. This is realized in usage rates. 2.) It’s believed that Darden has differentiated and positioned its brand effectively. All these chains have the same owner, but are completely different. They target a variety of different consumers. Darden is constantly tweaking its formulas to achieve the best mix of independence and collaboration among its brands. The different chains might use the same technologies for cooking and resources, but each brand retains its distinctive positioning. Red Lobster has changed its positioning for the concept of “stealth health”. The chain developed a new menu around wood-fired grilling as an option instead of only fried seafood. They spent $350 million in remodeling, but the chain was recently dubbed “best sit-down chain in America” by Men’s Health magazine. 3.) Different approaches can be better for each brand. Red Lobster’s endless shrimp could backfire if the shrimp population decreases...
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...Darlarna is a high-end Swedish furniture company that produces and sells various home and office furniture products across Canada. Despite having small distribution coverage, it managed to achieve high growth rates and profits between 2005 and 2007. As the company began expanding into the United States market in 2008, it found itself struggling to compete with the high rise in the factors of production and threats from competitors. The company soon reported a drastic decrease in net income and internal financial problems. Looking at the balance sheet and the information provided, the company should seek to retrench in 2009 in hopes of stabilizing profits and its financial problems. Despite the perceived potential in the U.S. market, Darlarna should reduce its growth and expansion because the financial crisis brings great uncertainty that would further threaten the survival of the company. From the balance sheet, it can be seen that the financial crisis has greatly impacted the financial outlook of the company. Prior to its entrance to the U.S. market, the company reported over $1.3 million in net sales with around $523 thousand in gross profits in 2006 and over $1.5 million in net sales with a gross profit of around $550 thousand in 2007. Despite the opportunity of gaining many potential customers in the U.S., the company only reported net sales of around $1.8 with $581 thousand in gross profits. Looking at the net sales and gross profits, the company’s rapid expansion into...
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...Anonymous Evaluation Paper Red Lobster Evaluation Red Lobster is a restaurant that is notorious for claiming they provide excellent seafood. Their promise is to provide tasty seafood while also providing people with a wonderful dining experience. Here is Red Lobster’s story taken straight from their website, “Here at Red Lobster we’re passionate about serving our guests great seafood. It’s why we go the extra mile to bring you the best dining experience possible. Our fishermen take pride in catching only the highest quality seafood, and the freshest fish. Our grill master’s expertly perfect flavors, cooking seafood and steak over a wood fire grill. And our servers pull out all the stops to make every dining experience feel extra special. It’s our passion. It’s our pride. Because at Red Lobster, we Sea Food Differently.” For me, I was anxious to see if the Red Lobster restaurant made me feel like I was having a real, oceanic experience. It is hard to have great seafood when comparing it to fresh, straight out of the ocean, seafood. Like many restaurants, Red Lobster has claimed it provides a comforting atmosphere, tasty seafood, and excellent service; however, I believe Red Lobster actually upholds its overall promise to its guests. Immediately after walking into Red Lobster, I felt as if I was walking into a restaurant striving for that “right off the coast,” appeal. I could sense that Red Lobster was trying its hardest to appeal to every guest that entered through...
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...Evaluation of Red Lobster Restaurant My overall opinion of Red Lobster is very high. Seafood is one of my favorite foods and after visiting Red Lobster, I must say that I was extremely impressed and satisfied with the quality and the taste of the food. Also, the restaurant was very clean and inviting while the staff was more than helpful while taking my. The waitress was courteous and was always eager to refill my drink As I entered Red lobster, I was greeted at the front door with a friendly hello ' and after only a ten minute wait, I was seated at a comfortable and clean table. The waitress politely asked if I would like her to get my drink and she insisted that she would be back in only a few minutes with my drink. True to her word, she returned with a cold class of Coca Cola and she asked if I would like a few minutes more to look over the menu I told the waitress that I was ready to give my and she smiled as she asked if I would like a salad with my meal. I felt that the staff at Red Lobster was unbeatable and I would recommend my friends to this restaurant because of the excellent service that I received from the waitress The same waitress brought out a fresh garden salad with an oil and vinegar dressing which was superb and before I even finished my salad she returned with a steaming plate of lobster and crab legs The plate of food looked very appetizing to the eyes and the smell of the food was extraordinary. I was given a small , wet napkin by the same waitress...
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...Write-up Red Lobster Customer Analysis Red Lobster is flavored by those who desire to use the meal occasion as an opportunity to connect with family, friends, colleagues and clients, , not as it assumed that customers are there for affordable seafood. Customers who come to Red Lobster are classified as 5 different people. The most common one is Indulgents, then Experientials, Traditionalists, Eclectics, Fruguals. Experientials are more frequent to come and spend more money per meal than the other four. In addition, Eclectics are more likely to take wine during meal, wine which is the most profitable part of sales. Profit from each kind of Customers are calculated by: [Average spend per meal * (1- percent alcohol) * 81% + Average spend per meal * percent alcohol * 67%]* Annual meals per customer (See Exhibit 1) Obviously, Experiential customers are most profitable. In addition, 2000 Experientials = 215303 > 1000 Indulgents and 1000 Eclectices = 147610. Company Analysis First, In 2004, Red Lobster is rated as excellent by 64 percent of its guests. This number goes up to 78% by 2010. Second, from the survey done by Copernicus, it shows that, compared to other sea food restaurants, Red Lobster best in non-seafood items and price. However, the most important ones, such as freshness, cleanliness and quality of seafood, Red Lobster did worse than other restaurants by 16%, 5% and 14%. Red Lobster is seemed as low end places by customers. Third, Red Lobster...
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